Abstract [en]

Now a days there is high emphasis on the reuse and recycling of waste which reflects that waste management industry is flourishing all over the word. The environmental and economic benefits connected with increased recycling and reuse of materials is usually considered as paradigm of sustainability societies. However, in past few years, an increased risk of spontaneous fires at temporary storage sites of organic materials, waste fuels and recyclables have been observed which lead to a shift in this paradigm (Ibrahim et al, 2013, Li et al, 2006, Fu et al, 2006). According to an estimate, such spontaneous fires have cost more than 49 million SEK during year 2000 to 2010 to Swedish waste industry (Ibrahim et al, 2013). In past unavailability of data regarding environmental damages and associated social costs of such fires lead to underestimation of hazards posed by such fires. However now there is a growing concern that waste management and recycling industry can pose serious threats to our cities and fire incidents can involve serious social, health and economic implications.

Previous research has showed that conventional invasive techniques (gas detectors, thermocouples) are proven to be insufficient to provide protection against risk for spontaneous fires. There is vast opportunity to do research and to investigate the use of non-invasive techniques (Infra-red Cameras) and advanced invasive techniques (Optical fibre cables) to generate early warning signals and continuous monitoring of temporary storage of waste. In our on-going research project regarding monitoring of real waste heaps using IR Thermal cameras, the preliminary data have provided us the opportunity to quantify the uncertainties associated with use of IR thermal cameras. In future we are intended to investigate different aspects regarding the use of IR cameras, such as; angle of orientation of IR camera in reference to heap, separation distance between IR camera and the surface of waste heaps and quantifying the potential of IR camera to detect hot spots inside the waste heaps. In future it is expected that there will be a growing market for such non-invasive probes that can protect our cities from the noxious emissions release from temporary storage sites of waste fuels and recyclables.